Category: Knitting (Page 1 of 2)

this & that

January 4, 2024 / Deb / 0 Comments

Just now made another mistake on Grain. I dropped a yo instead of knitting it I think? In any case, everything’s secure, just odd looking in a spot. Won’t even notice in the fo.

Got some stitch markers from ChiaoGoo that are making things much easier where I’m using them. Proper tool for the proper job. You wouldn’t think a stitch marker would make much of a difference but it really eliminates a friction point.

I got my latest purchase from Knitivity today. It’s gorgeous as always. Pictures to come.

I got some Scarfie this week as well and thought I’d picked a pattern for it but changed my mind when I actually started working it up. So that can be stash for a bit while I work on other things.

I’ve been doing a lot of gaming this week. I think my hands appreciate being asked to do something else.

And there’s even more going on but that seems like a good list!

experiments in throwing

January 1, 2024 / Deb / 0 Comments

So having returned to knitting with issues in my left hand I’m finding it super awkward to purl continental. I figured I could try knitting English and see if it was any smoother. The jury’s still out at this point, but it’s a possibility.

I did some random swatching to see if I could at least improve my purls when working them continental and that met with some success.

The biggest reason behind this is ribbing (which I haven’t practiced yet). I’m about to attempt socks again and I’m worried about getting them off to a good start (yes, I’ve settled on going cuff-down again). Tomorrow when I’m fresh I’m going to 2×2 my little heart out, assuming I can pull myself away from the day for a little while. It’s going to be a busy one.

processes and products

December 28, 2023 / Deb / 0 Comments

I’ve always though of myself as a product knitter, which makes a ton of sense given that I used to work in the design space where the final product was the entire point. I suspect this bled into everything I did, and I can’t remember ever slowing down and just enjoying the making of a thing.

Since I returned, though, I find myself as interested in the process as the product. Sometimes I get impatient for sure, but just as often I find myself more patient, not minding the time it takes to finish a row or the complexity of a stitch, enjoying the colors as they slide along the needle or admiring the fabric as it flies off the hook. It’s a whole different world working for the experience as well as the result, and for me it’s a fantastic change. Does this make me a newly minted process knitter? I don’t know. But I’m having fun with my yarn, and isn’t that the point?

hooks and tools

December 27, 2023 / Deb / 0 Comments

Look what else I got for Christmas!

I’m so excited! I really like working with bigger yarns. I can’t wait to get my hands on some and make lovely chunky things.

In other news, I finished the second sock of the worsted lavender pair and though I’m super stoked to have done it I’m feeling like I don’t want to be near another sock anytime soon. Maybe if I get over it I’ll try toe-up and see if they drive me any less crazy.

Grain is coming along but I’m starting to feel like I overestimated my love of endless garter stitch. It’s beautiful but I’m more and more reluctant to work on it. I’m not sure I can keep it up for another few thousand stitches.

And last but not at all least, after some swatching and playing around I decided to keep the same hook on my big brown throw. Mostly it’s nice to be working on it again.

a speedy Christmas

December 26, 2023 / Deb / 0 Comments

My oldest bought me a swift! Needless to say all of the hanks in the house are rapidly becoming cakes.

I hope you had a lovely holiday if you celebrate and a great one if you don’t.

Grain is growing

December 22, 2023 / Deb / 0 Comments

I haven’t worked on her in a couple of days, but it’s going quickly.

You can see in the second picture that I made a blooper, but I think continuing on has straightened it out. I can’t say as I mind too much…I like perfection as much as anyone but I know that I probably won’t get there, at least not yet. So it’s good practice taking it in stride.

getting ahead of myself

December 21, 2023 / Deb / 0 Comments

So…emboldened by my test sock success, I decided to try a sock with fingering weight yarn on 2s…in other words, sock weight yarn on sock needles. It looked like it was all going well, but the whole thing fell apart within 3 rows. Which is fine. But I’ve decided to wait a bit before trying again. The yarn is becoming something else but I don’t have pictures yet…and am still hoping that turns out lol.

Not the greatest picture and definitely not doing the yarn justice, but that was the triumphant first row lol.

I’m struggling with my phone camera. It’s supposed to be good but I haven’t figured out how to make it behave. It’s not something I know much about.

walking and chewing gum

December 19, 2023 / Deb / 0 Comments

I’m finding that right now knitting is a solitary activity for me. Even simple projects take enough concentration that I can make a mess of things pretty quickly if I get too distracted. And sometimes being simple is the problem; I made a pretty elementary mistake today when I started having a conversation partway through a row and lost track of which row I was on. That’s my own fault for not having marked the right side, but I am so accustomed to easily reading my crochet that it didn’t occur to me until just now.

Everything in knitting feels so high-stakes. Ripping back is harder than it is in crochet, and a dropped stitch seems like a disaster. I know these things will get easier but for the time being I’m on the edge of my seat.

It’s pleasurable, though. There’s such a lovely rhythm to it when all is going well, and solving a problem is so satisfying. Colors play together in a different way and even just as a beginner–and I really am a beginner again–I can see the possibilities. Everything I encounter just makes me want to dive deeper. So that’s exactly what I plan to do.

Grain

December 18, 2023 / Deb / 0 Comments

I’ve been knitting a lot lately and my latest project is Grain by tin can knits. I wish I had a better pic, but this is the very start of it:

This is perfect TV knitting now that it’s underway, but it was my very first provisional cast on and first garter tab.

I’m really enjoying the straightforward knitting and I think it’s going to show off the yarn nicely. I’m doing this in Hobbii Horizon. The colorway is Sunup Sky:

I’m looking forward to trying more of their patterns.

a small sock odyssey

December 16, 2023 / Deb / 0 Comments

So I have two new knitters/crocheters in the house and they are fearless. My oldest actually learned to knit by making their first sock. Fearless.

I’ve knit socks in the past but it’s probably been a dozen years. I got so excited over their sock, though, that I decided to relearn it. I grabbed some random worsted and Silver’s Sock Class and dove in.

Not going to lie, it was a bit of a struggle. And the finished product is a little rough, though it looks good in pictures:

I don’t think there’s any hope for the ribbing, it’s Red Heart Super Saver and between the lack of elasticity of the yarn (do not for a minute get me wrong, I *love* RHSS, it’s just better for some things than others) and my lack of skills on DPNs I’m not sure I’m going to do any better the second time. Still, it’s ribbing, it’s in the round, and in that sense it’s a triumph.

It took me a week to get to casting on the second one, but it’s started and I’ll have a pair of house socks soon. I’m actually really excited about this. I didn’t expect to knit another sock like, ever, so my wonky acrylic socks are a huge accomplishment.

Next step: sock weight yarn.

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